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A review by juanpablo_85
Inevitable Illusions: How Mistakes of Reason Rule Our Minds by Massimo Piattelli Palmarini
4.0
This was a great book! Whether you have experience with statistics (mind you it isn't a book about statistics) it'll make you think. It concerns what Massimo calls, & what I think is in cognitive science officially called (not sure) mental tunnels, how we make decisions, good & bad, & how we make them often in an irrational manner. It has a lot to do with probability & demonstrates a lot of the ways we think about things that often seem sound initially or on the surface, genuinely aren't. Some examples are a little difficult to wrestle with & others are ridiculously simple in hindsight after things become more obvious. Definitely recommend for anyone interested in the way the mind works, logic &/or probability.
"Rationality is not just 'a' faculty we possess; it is not a spontaneous characteristic of our species. What is proper to our species is our capacity to discover on our own certain striking internal contradictions & to refute them. It is also part of our capacity as humans that we possess the basic elements from which we can construct & refine rational thought. Thus, from what we have been exploring here is nothing to lead us to either pessimism or optimism. Using our reason means being straightforwardly realistic. We seek to recognize our limits, to understand the geography of our minds, to elaborate normative theories of rationality, & to improve our judgments-- in the light of these theories, & employing a better awareness of our natural limitations."
"Rationality is not just 'a' faculty we possess; it is not a spontaneous characteristic of our species. What is proper to our species is our capacity to discover on our own certain striking internal contradictions & to refute them. It is also part of our capacity as humans that we possess the basic elements from which we can construct & refine rational thought. Thus, from what we have been exploring here is nothing to lead us to either pessimism or optimism. Using our reason means being straightforwardly realistic. We seek to recognize our limits, to understand the geography of our minds, to elaborate normative theories of rationality, & to improve our judgments-- in the light of these theories, & employing a better awareness of our natural limitations."